Time: Twisted Present
by Captain Wolf
Summary: The war between pokemon and humans has been quiet for a long time, but that's about to change. Strangely enough, a group of kids and pokemon find themselves in the middle of it. 'Time Trilogy part 2 of 3'
1. Prologue: Time Lapse

**Twisted Present is the sequel to another story I have already completed here on FanFiction called Torn Future. Go to my homepage and read that first or you will have no idea what's going on.**

So here we are again, my dear readers. It wasn't too long ago (or maybe it was) that I finished my first real story here on FanFiction, Torn Future, and now the sequel is finally out. What awaits in future chapters? Some new mysteries, definitely, and maybe we'll end up solving some old ones, as well. Of course there'll be humor, for what's a story without at least a tad bit of comedy? And maybe, just maybe, some romance…

I hope I've gotten you all excited. Now, I know it might've been a while since you last read the pages of Torn Future, especially the earlier chapters, so I'll try to do a bit of recap as we go along.

I played with the title a little, didn't I? Can anyone guess which word the next story's title will have in it?

All right, I'm not going to keep you're here any longer, go ahead and read the prologue of the second book of the TIME series: Twisted Present!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

EDITED

* * *

Espeon breathed slowly and deeply, concentrating with all her might. _Come on, Espeon!_ She scolded herself, _you've done this before!_ But her usual cautiousness got in the way. She was still getting used to her psychic powers, shouldn't she check just to make sure that the rocks were actually lifting off the ground? She quickly opened one eye. Sure enough, about a dozen large rocks were floating right in front of her. Yes! She let the objects fall to the ground, reveling in her victory for a moment. She was getting quite good at this now, maybe it was true what they said: practice makes perfect!

"Nice work, boss!" chirped a Pidgey. He stood in the entryway of the cave Espeon had come to call home, if a temporary one, anyway. He was a small, normal looking Pidgey with a red sack on his back that he used for carrying things for place to place, for that was his job. He also delivered messages verbally. Espeon blushed at his comment, self-conscious. She tried to be modest.

"Any psychic pokemon could do the same," Espeon insisted. The Pidgey nodded, but his tone was serious.

"Well, there ain't many of those left, there aren't," he said reasonably, his voice heavy with the Viridian accent everyone native to the area seemed to have, "And we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"I know," agreed Espeon, "And for the last time, Sergeant, stop calling me boss!"

"Sorry," Sergeant shrugged, "Force of habit. Someone's gotta be formal around here, you know?"

"Uh, right," said Espeon, but then she asked, "So why are you here, Sergeant? Do you have a message for me again?"

"Of course!" the little Pidgey's chest swelled with pride, "And straight from the big man himself, too! Captain Lugia requested me specifically to recite this to ya. I just knew he'd realize I was the best one day, I just knew it!"

"Good for you!" exclaimed Espeon, but really she just wanted him to tell her what he needed to tell her, "So, what is it?" she asked eagerly, "Has Suicune returned yet?"

"Um, no," Sergeant said, knowing the disappointment that was sure to come to Espeon's face, "Old Waterlogs- I mean, Agent Suicune hasn't returned yet. Sorry." Espeon tried and pretty much failed to hide her disdain at the news.

Suicune had gone off a couple of months ago to search for Espeon's friends: Danny, Silver, Maddy, Umbreon, and little Growlie. However, he hadn't returned. This was sort of good news; after all, if Suicune couldn't find them, then the police definitely couldn't, as they were wanted for a series of crimes. On the other hand, Espeon really missed her friends.

"Ahem," Sergeant cleared his throat, "Anyway, like I was saying. The Captain wants to see you right away."

"Why?" asked Espeon, and then she realized that her question was a little irrelevant, but Sergeant didn't seem to mind.

"Don't really know," he said, "But whatever the reason, you best haul yourself over there, pronto."

* * *

So we have to prologue down.

As always, please review.


	2. The Last Person you Expected to See

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

* * *

Viridian Forest was always filled with activity. It was the main base of the entire Free World Army. That's what they called themselves: the Free World Army. Espeon had taken a lot of time to ponder the reason as to why that was their name, but when she had asked a soldier, he had simply stared at her blankly. Espeon had found this unsettling, and had since been nervous about the subject, so she had decided to leave it alone.

Today, as Espeon left her den and stepped into the cool morning air, she saw everyone cheerily bustling about and chatting idly at the same time. The atmosphere was so different from what she was used to. The jovial mood always relaxed her, even when she was extremely stressed out. She had long ago concluded that if she wanted to spend the rest of her life in one place, this would be it. She wondered if her friends would stay with her.

"Mornin', Angel!" a worker shouted. Espeon turned to see who had called her, but whoever it was had probably just said hi and left.

There were a lot of pokemon living in Viridian Forest, and as you can imagine, there was a lot more than one of each pokemon. So, the natives had long since developed a habit of giving each other nicknames, usually ones that related to the personalities of the pokemon they were given to. Now, as far as Espeon could tell, she was the only Espeon in all of Viridian, so a nickname wasn't really necessary, but a while after she had arrived, everyone started calling her Angel.

"Being called the name of your species is just weird," a Raticate named Fluffy had once told her, "I mean, it'd be weird if you called a human "human"?" Espeon supposed he was right. That would be sort of strange. It did take her a while to get used to it, though.

She trotted briskly down the path that led to the cave where all the high-ranking pokemon officers planned battle strategies. Before Espeon and her friends had freed Lugia, the room had almost been forgotten, but now it was back in business and it was where you could always find Lugia.

Espeon was enjoying the walk when she saw something that made her freeze. _It's just an illusion_, she said to herself, _a trick of the light. You miss him too much._ But as she took a step back, she proved herself wrong. There, a little ways off her path was an Umbreon. He was sitting by a lake, taking a drink, not really paying attention to much of anything.

Of course, she thought, this couldn't be _her_ Umbreon. There was no way. But of course she couldn't help but check it out.

At the sound of her pawsteps, the Umbreon turned around.

"Hi," she said friendlily, "What's up?" Espeon's heart sank. This wasn't her Umbreon at all.

"Hey," the female Umbreon asked, concerned, "What's eating you?" Espeon stood there for a moment, dazed. This Umbreon's relaxed, slang-y tone even reminded her of her Umbreon.

"Oh!" Espeon realized that even if she wasn't in the presence of her friend, she was still in the presence of _someone_, "Nothing. It's just, I thought you were someone else."

The Umbreon shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry," she apologized.

"It's not your fault," said Espeon, "It's not like you can control who you are."

"True," the Umbreon agreed, and then she asked, "What do they call you?"

"I'm just… Espeon, I guess," replied Espeon, "But some of the people around here call me Angel."

"So they got you too, eh?" said the Umbreon with a small, humorous smile, "Before this place I was just Umbreon, but these folks started calling me Sassy, and I just can't seem to shake it off. So that's what you can call me."

"It's very nice to meet you, Sassy," said Espeon politely.

"It's nice to meet you too, Espeon, Angel, whoever you are," said Sassy. For a moment, neither knew what to say, but then Sassy spoke up.

"So, who was it that you confused me with back there?" she asked curiously.

"A friend of mine," explained Espeon, "You see, we were… separated a while ago and-" Espeon cut off, a light bulb seeming to flash above her head. Sassy seemed so familiar, even though Espeon had never met her before. Maybe it was going out on a limb, but… She turned towards her companion, who was waiting patiently.

"Hey, Sassy," she asked, "You wouldn't happen to have a brother, would you?"

"Yes," Sassy answered, her expression strange, "Why do you ask?"

"Was he kind of relaxed and funny and did he know a guy named Silver and did your mom die at birth and did you become orphaned when your dad died and decide to go different ways promising to reunite one day and-" Unable to control herself, Espeon unloaded a stream of questions, or, rather, a stream of words that were meant to be a stream of questions but turned out to be a jumbled mess.

"You know him?" Sassy interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes!" Espeon shouted, her excitement uncontainable, "And you won't believe how glad he'll be to see you!"

Sassy didn't answer, seemingly in a bewildered state. Realizing what big news this must've been to the other pokemon, Espeon contained her excitement for a moment. She couldn't wait to see the look on Umbreon's face when she told him about how she had just come across his sister in the middle of Viridian Forest! He'd be so happy to be with his long-lost sibling, and, of course, he'd be just as happy to see Espeon, too…

"It's funny," said Sassy quietly, interrupting Espeon's thoughts, "I've always known I'd come across him again someday, but now that I finally hear any news about him, I don't know what to say or how to feel." Espeon thought this a little odd. If someone came and told her where to find Umbreon, she'd be too joyful for words. Maybe it was different for Sassy. She seemed a lot more relaxed than Espeon and apparently hadn't been thinking of her brother as much as the psychic type had.

"Sassy," Espeon began, breaking the silence that had developed between the two, "You're not very sassy."

Sassy started cracking up.

"You're right," she said, pulling herself together, "I'm not. Don't know who thought of that one, but they must've had a pretty good sense of humor."

"I guess so," said Espeon with a smile.

"So, uh," Sassy started, serious, "Do you know _where_ my brother is?" Espeon was unable to hide her disdain at this question.

"Well, no," she admitted, "We were… separated. But Suicune's trying to find him, along with some of my other friends that we were traveling with."

"Suicune?" asked Sassy, "Why's Old Waterlogs trying to find your friends? No offense or anything, just curious."

It then dawned on Espeon that Sassy didn't know the story of how she and her friends had freed Lugia, and thinking of that, she also had somewhere to be right now, didn't she?

"I've got to go!" she cried, dismayed at the thought of keeping Lugia waiting any longer. She leapt up and turned to go.

"Wha…? Where are you going?" Sassy asked, confused.

"I promised to be somewhere! With Lugia! He's waiting for me now. Oh, I am _so_ late…" Espeon stammered, getting ready to bolt.

"Can I come?" asked Sassy.

"If you hurry!" replied Espeon, and with that, she took off at full speed with Sassy close at her heels.

* * *

Just what does Lugia want Espeon for? You'll find out in the next chapter.

Reviews are appreciated!


	3. Pokemon are Opinionated

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

EDITED

* * *

Espeon and Sassy reached the entrance of the Free World Army's Headquarters panting and out of breath. The HQ was a large cave completely surrounded by trees and shrubbery on both sides and from up above. Outside the entrance was a Skamory named Ridged. He was the self-proclaimed and widely accepted guard of the HQ. He gave them a strange look. It wasn't often that he saw two eons in frenzy. 

"Why did we have to get here really fast again?" asked Sassy.

"Hi, Ridged!" said Espeon quickly, ignoring Sassy, "Lugia wanted to see me?"

"Yes," said Ridged, then he turned to Sassy, "Who's she?"

"She's my friend," explained Espeon, "Can she come, too?"

"Sorry," said Ridged seriously, "But Lugia only told me to let you in. It's the rules. She stays out here."

"But…" stammered Espeon.

"It's okay, Espeon," interrupted Sassy, "I'll stay out here with the stiff bird; you can go in." Espeon looked at here reluctantly, but Sassy sat down on the spot in defiance. Then Espeon's look switched to one of gratitude, and she scampered inside the cave. Sassy turned to Ridged.

"So," she asked, "How's life been treating ya?" Ridged glanced at her, but then turned his gave ahead, scanning the area for enemies. Sassy sighed. Some people just didn't know how to carry a conversation.

Inside the headquarters, Espeon slowed down as she got deeper into the cave and the light began to dim. Just as the faint glow from the beginning of the cave was beginning to fade, she spotted a different source of brightness as she rounded a corner. To her surprise, the rocky walls melted away and were replaced by cold steel. She walked into a humungous room of silver metal. It reminded her of Snagem's extended hideout under the ground. She gazed in wonder at the bright artificial lights on the ceiling and then scanned the walls, eventually her eyes landed on a group in the center of the area. It was Lugia and other important pokemon. She spotted many legendaries, including Entei and Raiku, as well as an assortment of average pokemon that had worked their way up to the top. Espeon gulped. Even Lugia seemed dwarfed by this large space. She made her way over to them.

"Ah, Espeon," Lugia said in his deep, clear voice, looking up. Espeon felt a jolt run through her as every pokemon in the room turned to look at her.

"I was wondering where you were," Lugia continued, ignoring Espeon's petrified state. "First off, I would like you to know how sorry we are about being unable to locate your friends. I'm sure Suicune is doing all he can."

"Uh, yeah," Espeon said, snapping back to reality.

"Suicune, _doing_ anything?" Espeon heard Entei scoff silently, "Yeah right." Raiku nudged him sharply, glaring at him for his rudeness.

"But I was hoping, in their absence, if you could help us with something," Lugia went on.

"Of course," nodded Espeon firmly.

"For a while now we've been debating something. The war, so to speak, has been… quiet. The humans haven't attacked us, and we haven't attacked them. A while ago, Entei, here," at this point he turned to the fire pokemon, "He suggested the we strike them before they catch us off guard. And Raiku," he then turned to Raiku, "is strictly against the idea. We took a vote, but it came out even." Espeon looked at the group and counted its members: Raiku, Entei, Lugia, Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos she knew. They had come to meet her shortly after her arrival in Viridian. But there were a few other, non-legendaries: a Pigeot, a Primeape, a Pikachu, and an Arcanine. Ten members. Espeon tactically thought it was weird not to have an odd number. That way you couldn't have a tie.

"Well," Lugia began, as if reading her thoughts, "Normally we'd have eleven, but Suicune isn't here."

"Why are you guys worried about an attack?" asked Espeon.

"Exactly!" Raiku jumped up before Lugia could answer, "That's what I've been trying to tell him, but he won't listen to me! His logic is completely outrageous," clearly frustrated, she (Espeon had discovered that legendaries didn't have genders, but Raiku's voice was feminine) she sat back down, seething. Entei just rolled his eyes.

"The war's been quiet for much too long. If we don't fight now, then we won't get the element of surprise. My logic makes perfect sense!" Entei defended himself calmly, which seemed to upset Raiku even more. She yelled at him again, but Espeon wasn't listening because Lugia had leaned down and whispered into her ear:

"They're always like this. Their the loudest voices in the entire headquarters!" Espeon laughed.

"What was it that you wanted me to do?" she asked. Lugia grew serious.

"We were wondering if you could… tell us when the humans were planning on attacking," he said quickly. At first, Espeon didn't get it. How would she know…?

Oh. Right.

"You want me to see into the future?" she asked quietly. The idea was unsettling. She hadn't glimpsed past the present day since… well, since her old job with the humans. Lugia sat patiently awaiting her reply.

_Well,_ Espeon thought,_ you already said yes._

"All right," she said. Lugia gave her a nod, and Espeon closed her eyes. She didn't really have to concentrate that hard; she had done this a million times before. Although all that bickering in the background was annoying… but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, the voices of Entei and Raiku faded away. Could it be? She opened one eye.

The room was empty. It looked just as it had before, but it was completely void of occupants, save for her. With one last look, she decided to check out what was going on outside. She walked towards the entrance.

Outside she noticed two things missing: one, Sassy was no longer there, and even more surprising, neither was Ridged. The sun was high in the sky and Ridged didn't go home until an hour after the night began. She squinted, looking into the trees, but no one was there. It was disturbingly quiet… Wait, what was that? Espeon pricked her large ears, picking up a snuffling noise coming from her right. She snuck over, circling around part of the rocky slope, and found herself facing the last pokemon she'd expected to see.

"_Houndour?_" she exclaimed in disbelief. Sure enough, the familiar dog pokemon was right outside the Free World Army HQ, his nose to the ground, sniffing for something…

And then there was a loud bang.


	4. All's Fair in Love and War

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

EDITED

* * *

The world was blurry and Espeon seemed to be unable to move. She stood frozen as another blast rumbled around her. Houndour seemed unfazed by the noise and kept sniffing, heading in Espeon's direction.

"Espeon!" someone called to her, but that someone seemed very far away. She felt someone push her gently, but no one was there. She let out a small gasp as the world disappeared.

Espeon blinked and looked up at Raiku, who was still shouting her name. She was back inside the Free World Army Headquarters, and everything was in chaos. Red lights were flashing and alarms were blaring, and now she heard them ten times louder than she had when she was in a different time period. The legendaries and the other chiefs she had seen were scattered around the room in a bit of a panicked state. No one seemed to know what was going on.

"What happened?" asked Espeon, still in a numb state.

"I'm not sure," said Raiku, "But we'd best get out of here. The cave might collapse." Espeon nodded, seeing the obvious logic in that idea. Lugia was trying to get everyone else out in an orderly fashion, but most had already sprinted out into the trees. Raiku and Espeon followed suite.

"Espeon!" shouted Sassy as they reached the exit. Raiku butted in before Espeon could respond.

"What happened?" the electric legendary demanded.

"I don't know!" cried Sassy, "But I'm gonna guess that someone's bombing us!" As if those words were a signal of some sort, another explosion could be heard, and this time Espeon saw smoke rising from the treetops.

"It's coming from the direction of the base!" she yelled, and for a sickening moment thought of Sergeant and her other friends that lived there.

"Sensei, Frena!" Raiku called, taking charge of the situation and motioning for the Primeape and the Arcanine from the council to come over, "Guard Espeon! I'm going to find out what's happening!"

"Isn't it obvious!" shouted a voice from behind. They all turned to see Entei, glowering at Raiku with pure hatred, "We were too slow! We could've had them by now, but no! You were too against it. We had to have a vote, and when it came out even we had to get little miss psycho here to make sure, just for the sake of your conscious! Are you happy now, Raiku? Are you happy now that they're destroying everything we've worked so hard for because you had the silly notion of _peace_ in your mind? _Are you_?"

As Entei had been speaking, Raiku had slowly lowered herself into a tense crouching position. By the time he was through, the electric sparks that had begun to cackle in her fur were giving off enough radiation for Espeon to notice a few of her hairs fall off.

"You dare blame _me_ for all of this?" she hissed so quietly it was barely audible. Entei sneered.

"Do you see any other know-it-all, stubborn, arrogant, cowardly…"

"You dare proclaim this to be _my_ fault?" Raiku screeched. Her calm leadership was completely gone and had been replaced with blind rage.

"Yes, I do!" Entei answered coolly. Raiku roared, and with wild eyes leapt at Entei. Her jump was high and her claws sharp. She was completely prepared to attack her fellow legendary. Entei braced himself for a counterattack. Espeon and Sassy could only stare in horror.

Nobody saw the net.

That is, nobody saw it until it snatched Raiku right out of the air. The electric pokemon's eyes widened as she saw a zigzag pattern wrap in front of her face and pull her downward. With a dog-like yelp, she fell to the ground tangled in the web. Before anyone could react, a thoroughly shocked Entei was trapped as well. Espeon turned, hearing a whizzing sound, and saw a net coming straight for _her_.

Lighting fast, Sensei the Primeape jumped in front of her and took the hit. He was sprawled onto the floor, trying to wiggle his way out of the trap. Espeon looked up and saw the ones who were throwing them. They wore completely black uniforms save for white gloves and boots, and the big letter R on the front of their shirts.

"Run!" Sassy cried, and then she gripped Espeon's scruff with her teeth and yanked her out of the way of the next net. And then everything went from slow motion to super fast. Espeon scrambled to her paws and took off with Sassy at her heels. Frena the Arcanine let out a stream of flames into the area where the nets were coming from and followed them into the forest.

Espeon and Sassy didn't stop running for a long time, but finally they paused for a breather when they came to a small stream.

"Where's Frena?" asked Espeon through a gasp for air. She could see the Arcanine anywhere.

"They must've gotten her," replied Sassy. She jumped over the stream and then turned to Espeon.

"Come on!" she shouted, "I know a place where we can hide!" With a final moment of hesitation Espeon followed her further into the woods.

"Why are we running?" she asked, her chest about to burst from exhaustion, "We probably lost them a while ago!"

"No," said Sassy, dead serious, "We're probably just out of their sight. Come on! We're almost there." She led Espeon past so many trees that Espeon swore that they were going in circles. Finally, she stopped at the edge of a great lake. This one was much bigger that the one where Espeon had met Sassy, and she guessed it was a lot deeper, too.

"Are you up for a swim, Espeon?" asked Sassy just after they had stopped. Espeon looked at her in disbelief.

"After that?" she asked, "Do we have to?"

"Don't you know?" Sassy said mischievously, "There are rumors that Suicune himself has purified these waters. A swim here would only refresh you. And besides, we have to dive to get there."

"Get where?" asked Espeon.

"To what's probably the only place safe from Team Rocket," said Sassy, "And we've gotta go now. They can't know about this place!" With one last glance back into the forest, Sassy dived into the lake and was gone. Espeon had no choice but to follow.

Lukewarm liquid surrounded the psychic type. With her eyes closed, she couldn't see or smell anything. The only senses functional were touch and maybe a bit of hearing. Deciding swimming blind would get her nowhere, Espeon opened her eyes and was surprised by how clear the water was. To her left she saw Sassy swimming towards a crevice near the bank of the lake. Espeon paddled over.

When she reached the cave, Sassy was long gone. Espeon looked into the dark abyss with uncertainty. It was so dark, and there was no way she had enough air to last more than thirty more seconds.

Then she heard voices coming from above, and she propelled herself into the cave with unmatched speed.


	5. Sisters in Loss

Lucky you, this chapter is a bit longer than usual.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

EDITED

* * *

Being underwater and in total darkness at the same time is a strange feeling. It it's almost like sleeping. You know, those few moments right before you realize you're awake. It's just vast nothingness. You're in total darkness without any sense of being or any gravitational force pulling you down.

Espeon would've much preferred being in that half-asleep state to where she was now. This was because there were a few very distinct differences between being under water in total darkness and being half-asleep. For one, Espeon could breath in a half-asleep state. She couldn't breath underwater. Her burning lungs wouldn't let her forget that for one second.

Espeon tried not to panic, but it was pretty hard. She couldn't see anything. She could've been flipped upside down and she wouldn't have known. The only thing she could think to do was keep swimming forward.

A set of jaws gripped her firmly on the scruff of the neck and yanked her out of the water.

Espeon couldn't remember appreciating oxygen as much as she did at that moment. The room was stuffy, and there was absolutely no light, but that really didn't matter at the moment. She could _breathe_, for heaven's sake! What more could she wish for?

"You okay?" came Sassy's cautious voice, inches away from Espeon.

"Yeah," Espeon replied, her heaving breaths beginning to calm, "just give me a minute."

"It _is_ a bit of a swim," Sassy said, as if agreeing with Espeon's real complaint, "but it was the only place I could think of to go to. I think we finally lost them."

"Good," replied Espeon with some satisfaction. Why did Team Rocket always have to ruin everything? Deciding that this wasn't the time to brood about the minds of the not so nice, she instead shook the water out of her fur, drenching Sassy in droplets of water.

"Thanks," replied Sassy dryly.

"Sorry," apologized Espeon sheepishly.

"I guess you're wondering where we are, huh?" asked Sassy knowingly. The thought had in fact been occurring to Espeon, so she nodded.

"Well, quite frankly, I'm not really sure where we are either," admitted Sassy, "I'm not really supposed to know it exists."

"So how do you now it's here, then?" asked Espeon curiously.

"When I first came to Viridian, I saw Suicune dive beneath this lake," Sassy began, "At the time, I had only heard whispers of his existence, and I didn't know he was commonly seen around here. So I decided to follow him, you know, to see what legendaries did with their immortal lives," she paused for a moment, and Espeon wondered if she was thinking of something, but the psychic type had no way of knowing what was on the Umbreon's mind because she couldn't see her in this lighting, but then Sassy picked up the story again.

"After a long time of holding my breathe and maybe a bit of panicking, I came out here, only it was lit up then," said Sassy.

"So this place isn't just an empty pit of endless night?" asked Espeon, relieved. She already missed the sunlight.

"Poetic," Sassy laughed, "And no, it's not a pit of endless night. We should probably find the lights…" Her voice trailed off as she trotted away from the spot where she had been sitting to where she recalled the switch to have been.

"Sassy, where are you?" asked Espeon nervously when she heard strange noises that consisted of bumping and knocking into things.

"I think I found one of the lamps," declared Sassy from a few feet away, "Argh! How do these things work?" Espeon's ears pricked up as she heard more bizarre clinking noises. Sassy seemed to be struggling with something.

"Whoa!" yelped Sassy as a sudden burst of blinding, but welcome, brightness surged up from where Sassy was standing. Espeon could suddenly see the other pokemon's familiar silhouette, along with a few other things.

The source of the light was an old Halloween pumpkin flashlight.

The dim light probably would've made much of a difference evening the darkest of nights, but down in the hole it seemed like a beacon. It lit of the entire room, revealing a treasure trove. Espeon spotted piles upon piles of what could only be described as junk. There was old-fashioned furniture and crumpled up snack bags. There were mirrors and trading cards along with pokedolls and newspapers. Many different types of coins were strewn all over the floor. Posters and paintings decorated the walls. Espeon could only gaze at it all in wonder.

"Is this stuff Suicune's?" she gasped.

"You could mistake him for a dragon type, couldn't you?" noted Sassy, letting out a low whistle as she sat at Espeon's side.

"But why would Suicune hoard all of this in here?" Espeon wondered.

"He told me it was because he wanted to save it," said Sassy.

"So he caught you?" Espeon commented, "I mean, he figured out that you followed him down here?"

"Well, yeah," Sassy said with a shrug.

"Was he mad?" asked Espeon.

"You know Suicune," Sassy replied, "He doesn't really get mad. But then… I could tell that it bothered him that I had found his hiding place. Everyone likes to have their secrets, you know? So I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone about this place, and I stuck to that. Until now, that is."

"I'm sorry I made you break a promise, Sassy," Espeon apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Sassy insisted, "I decided to lead you here, and Suicune would understand."

"But this must've meant a lot to Suicune, being in such a secluded place as this…" Espeon went on.

"Now your just being overdramatic," said Sassy, "Don't let it get to you. If there's one thing I've learned in life it's that you can't change anything that's already happened, so there's no point in fretting about it."

Espeon stared at Sassy. The Umbreon was looking at her with a defiant face, as if she were in some way ordering Espeon not to worry.

_She's just like him_, thought Espeon, and it was true. Sassy had struck up a fast friendship with Espeon, just like Umbreon, and she had his same easy-going personality.

"Umbreon gave me a speech just like that," Espeon said sadly, remembering her friend.

"That little sentence?" asked Sassy, "That was just the short version! But no one wants to hear me preach. It just sounds too forceful, so I try to cut down. You know, Espeon, I honestly don't think I've told anyone that before. I think it's because I've always taken it for granted that everyone could get over the past immediately just like I do. Hey, Espeon, what's up?" Sassy reached over and nudged Espeon with her paw. The purple eeveelution's ears were drooping and her eyes were downcast.

"It's just… you're so much like him Sassy," Espeon admitted, "I'd know who's sister you were anywhere," she sighed, "I really miss him. I know that might sound lame to you. After all, you're his sister. You haven't seen him for years and you barely even think about him and here I come along and I haven't seen him within the past month and I'm about to start bawling about it!" Espeon finished her sentence with a scolding note, angry with herself. Sassy sat quietly for a few seconds.

"Hey, Espeon," she began suddenly.

"Uh huh?" Espeon responded bleakly.

"You don't have to go turning _every_ situation into a guilty sob-fest about my brother, okay?" Sassy insisted, "I mean, everyone is capable of falling in love, but you're the only one I know who feels so dang_guilty_ about it!"

Espeon stifled a laugh, really needing it.

"Is it so obvious that I like him so much?" she asked, embarrassed.

"Painfully so," confirmed Sassy.

"I often wonder where he is, you know," Espeon admitted, "and what he's doing right now."

"Even I do that sometimes, Espeon," said Sassy.

"Really?" asked Espeon hopefully.

"Just sometimes," Sassy reminded her.

"At night, when there's nothing else to do but wonder?" Espeon persisted.

"I don't have to wonder then!" Sassy replied.

"Why not?" asked Espeon.

"Because I know what he does at night!" said Sassy practically, "He_ sleeps_!"

At this, Espeon could only laugh.

* * *

And so Espeon and Sassy had a special friendship bonding moment. Can anyone compare this with a chapter from Torn Future?

As always, please review.


	6. Houndour's Fate

All right, I know I haven't updated in a while. I'm being lazy, I promise! I'm just working on new story ideas and I'm (RE)EDITING chapter of Torn Future. Anyways, I thought it was about time I updated this. Enjoy the really long chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

EDITED

* * *

Houndour shifted his paws uneasily, a restless, nagging feeling prickling through him like thorns. He had become used to the feeling. It had stuck with him ever since he left Umbreon and Growlie in Sapphire City to go and search for Virus. Today, though, the feeling was even more noticeably present than usual. 

Rocket members swarmed around him, weapons and radios in hand, ready to signal somebody of a higher rank if something went wrong. But Houndour didn't think anything would. The Pokemon living in Viridian Forest were either being taken away while they were paralyzed with fear or laying motionless on the ground. Houndour shook the thought of the second option out of his head.

"Yo! Newbie!" Houndour jumped at least a foot in the air out of surprise, and then turned to face his addressor at attention.

"Yes sir!" he shouted, still getting over his surprise.

"The Boss wants anyone with a good nose to be sniffing out any runaways," a rugged-looking Sandslash behind him, whom most of the pokemon had taken to calling Duke, told him sternly.

"Coming!" Houndour said immediately, his brain on automatic. It took him a moment to realize that Duke was waiting for him.

"Oh," he said blankly, and he scampered after the ground type. Duke led him to the edge of the clearing where a Poochyena called Mutt and a Delcatty called Butler stood waiting.

"It's about time!" Butler muttered darkly as his tail twitched behind him.

"Are we going to take the newbie?" asked Mutt curiously, leaning forward to sniff Houndour. Houndour recoiled a little, much to the amusement of Mutt.

"Boss' orders. Take everyone with a good nose," Duke told them.

"Which Boss?" asked Butler, eyes narrowing, "The human one or His Majesty Mightyena?"

"Both," said Duke.

During his time here with this other Team, Houndour had learned that the pokemon in Team Rocket had a few different ways of doing things. One thing was nicknames. Houndour hadn't even given that idea a second thought. His name was Houndour. So what if it were a species name, too? It was what he was called. He had never even met another Houndour, anyway. But that was the way the Rocket pokemon liked to do it, and Houndour didn't like the thought of arguing with them. They smelled strange and acted weird.

However, the Rocket pokemon hadn't come up with a nickname for him yet, and he hadn't offered any suggestions, so for now he was just the newbie.

"I think we should give him a proper name, like Winston," said Mutt with a laugh, almost as if she had read his mind, "He's so _stiff_." To emphasize her point, she reached out with one paw and poked Houndour's front leg, which, like every other muscle in his body, was so tense a rock probably couldn't put a dent in it.

"We'll decide on something for the newbie later," Duke said, "If we don't hurry the survivors will be long gone." This seemed to satisfy Mutt and Butler, and they put their noses to the ground (or, rather, Mutt put her nose to the ground and Butler put his in the air. He insisted that this was easier for him, but most knew it was only because he thought he looked silly with his nose in the dirt). Duke wasn't so stuffy. He pointed his snout downward and took a deep long sniff.

"Um, Duke," the words were out of Houndour's mouth before he could stop, and Duke's pointed head was turned towards him. Houndour seemed to freeze, his throat dry. Duke's look could be absolutely terrifying.

"What is it, newbie?" he growled.

"I was j-just wondering," Houndour started, and then clearing his throat to continue, "what are we going to do with the, er, survivors when we find them?"

"Tell them to come with you or else," Duke said simply, going back to finding the trail.

"Or else what?" asked Houndour. Duke looked at him again, as if assessing him of sorts. It was while before he finally turned away. He didn't answer Houndour, he just stomped off, leaving him standing there alone.

Houndour gulped. He had a very bad feeling about this.

* * *

"Coast is clear," whispered Sassy. She cautiously crept out of the thicker part of the woods and padded towards the Free World Army Headquarters that she and Espeon had been not even an hour ago. At that point Ridged the Skamory had been standing guard faithfully in front of the cave, but now he was gone, and the dark tunnel seemed much, much bigger than it used to be. 

Espeon followed Sassy dutifully, keeping careful watch on the bushes around them. Everywhere she looked she could see the uniformed Team Rocket members. They went swiftly into the Headquarters, a strange feeling of déjà vu coming over Espeon. Could it be? It was the right time of day, Ridged was no longer there, but then again, Sassy was. Maybe she had been there in Espeon's vision, just hidden…

When they reached the metal room at the end they found it deserted and disturbingly quiet. Sassy took a moment to survey the room.

"Fancy place they've got here," she whistled, her voice seeming to echo.

"Shh!" warned Espeon, cringing. Sassy gave her an apologetic look.

"Lugia's not here," hissed Espeon, fear running through her blood, "Neither are Raikou or Entei, or any of the Counsel members. What if Team Rocket caught them? Sassy, I don't think this is a good place to be right now!" Espeon fought the panic screaming through her. Something was wrong, something was_ so _wrong. The feeling that she was being watched chilled her to the bone. She did not like seeing this place empty. She did not like thinking about what was happening to all of the pokemon of Viridian Forest right now.

"Espeon!" a sharp nudge from Sassy made her jump.

"Calm down," the other pokemon wasn't being loud, but stern. The simple command left Espeon confused. A moment ago, under water, she had found comfort in the way Sassy never got upset, but now her friend's laid-back attitude just seemed totally irrational. How could someone be calm at a moment like this?

"We need to help them," Espeon sputtered. It took a moment for her to realize that what she said was near the loony point, but what else could they possible do?

"I know," said Sassy, "But we need to do it rationally. We need to find other survivors and get them to help. There's strength in numbers, after all." This helped Espeon a little. Right. Of course there were other survivors. They couldn't have been the only ones that escaped.

"We'd better get out of here," Espeon said, "If someone finds us, we're trapped." Sassy nodded, and they headed towards the entrance.

"Wait," murmured Espeon, holding a paw in front of Sassy to stop her, "Hear that?" Sassy pricked her ears and, sure enough, a snuffling noise could be heard outside of the cave. The two eons stood motionless, afraid any movement would cause detection.

Espeon felt anxiety in every one of her muscles. They were going to get caught, they were going to get caught…

Wait a minute. The vision. Duh.

It hit Espeon so hard and she felt relief flood through her.

"Sassy-" she started.

"Shh!" whispered the other pokemon.

"But I know who it is…" Espeon tried to explain. It was just that moment that the familiar shape of Houndour came along the side of the cave, nose to the ground. Espeon wanted to shout out to him, after all, he was the only one from her previous adventure she had seen in a while, but then again, he was part of Team Snagem, wasn't he? Were they still looking for Espeon? What was he doing here, anyway? The joy about Houndour's appearance turned to suspicion. But there was no need, really. Houndour didn't even seem to notice them. He kept on sniffing right along the edge of the cage.

"Hey, newbie!" a shrill, feminine voice called out. Espeon saw Houndour turn towards it.

"Hey, Mutt," he said, not enthusiastic. A little Poochyena ran up to him.

"You know," said the pup, Mutt, as she was called, almost insulted by Houndour's answer, "You should really learn to be friendly to some people. Everyone thinks your stuck-up, you know that? I've heard some really nasty nickname suggestions, I'll tell you. And am I ever mean to you? Of course not! I stick up for you, I do. I tell them "he's just as much of a Teammate as any one of you and you ought to respect him as a Rocket member"! That's what I tell them."

"What is it?" asked Houndour, staring at he blankly. Or maybe it wasn't a blank stare. It looked more like an annoyed stare, as if he didn't believe a word that Mutt spouted from her mouth.

But this wasn't what shocked Espeon the most. What shocked her was what Mutt had called Houndour.

"A fellow Rocket member!"

Houndour was with Team Rocket?

"Go away, Mutt," Houndour said, almost pleadingly. Espeon took another look at his face. Was it annoyance or sadness there? Espeon wanted to ask him why he was with Team Rocket. She wanted to demand to know why, but she knew that'd be stupid as long as this little Poochyena was here.

"What if I don't want to go away?" Mutt taunted, skipping around Houndour.

"Stop it, Mutt!" snapped Houndour.

"What're you going to do about it?" nagged the puppy. Houndour's fur bristled, and then his eyes went wide.

"Mutt, stop!" he shouted.

"You can't catch me you can't catch me…!" Mutt went on.

"No, seriously, Mutt, you're going through the rock wall!" Houndour said, alarmed. This made Mutt stop.

"Huh?" she asked, looking puzzled.

With much trepidation, Houndour reached out with his paw and put it an inch inside the cave, looking stunned. Mutt copied his look.

"What the…?" started the Poochyena.

Espeon was beginning to piece together what was happening. They couldn't see the cave! They thought it was just part of the mountain.

"Lugia," she whispered. She turned to face Sassy.

"Lugia must've used his psychic powers to put an illusion on the Headquarters! They can't see the cave!" Espeon told her. But then why had Sassy and her been able to see it? Was it designed so only certain pokemon could see the entrance?

"What was that?" asked Mutt, eyes wide. Uh-oh. Had she heard Espeon?

"Did you guys find something?" another voice from not-too-far-away. A cat-like pokemon came towards the other two.

"Butler, look!" shouted Mutt, putting her paw into the cave a little bit. Butler stared, and then hissed.

"It's an illusion!" he shouted, "There's psychic type in there!" He turned away, calling, "Duke! Get over here!"

"What should we do?" Espeon asked Sassy.

"I don't know," admitted Sassy, who, for the first time since Espeon had known her, sounded scared.

Espeon wished Sassy did know what to do. She wished Sassy wasn't the only one there who could think of what to do. She wished Danny were here to think of something fast, and Maddy was here to challenge the Rocket pokemon, and that Silver could be here to help in any way he could, and Growlie were here to bark and tell them to leave Espeon alone, and most of all she wished Umbreon were here to make the situation look a lot better than it seemed. Oh, how she wished Umbreon were here…

_Where are you guys?_ Espeon whimpered.


End file.
